Marijuana.net has been providing updates on studies that highlight marijuana’s potential provide medical relief. Many of these studies show pain relief, while others have demonstrated that cannabis may hold the ability to actually fight cancer. Several years ago, there was a government study released showing this. More recently, Rick Simpson’s California Tears Hemp Oil has received praise from many who have used it to help fight their own cancer. Only months ago, Tommy Chong announced he would be seeking similar treatment. Although many of these breakthroughs have not received the deserved attention, it appears a new study is gaining a little more visibility. Huffington Post is reporting that two researchers from California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco identified a compound in marijuana that can stop the metastasis of many aggressive forms of cancer. One of the researchers leading the study, Pierre Desprez, described the findings by saying “It took us about 20 years of research to figure this out, but we are very excited.” The findings seem to revolve around cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabinoid that has received a great deal of attention as of late. This is also the cannabinoid found in the newly created Israeli marijuana that produces pain relief with no psychedelic effects. Desprez has been studying the ID1 gene, which causes cancer to spread. With the help of another scientist, Sean McAllister, who has studied CBD in depth, the two were able to determine that CBD can stop the spreading of cancer. Desprez also said “What we found was that his Cannabidiol could essentially ‘turn off’ the ID-1… “We likely would not have found this on our own, That’s why collaboration is so essential to scientific discovery.” Scientific collaboration on the issue can be difficult as experimenting with marijuana is often not allowed under current U.S. law.

This week has been an eventful one in terms of musicians and marijuana. Earlier this week we reported that Lady Gaga smoked a joint on stage during a performance in Amsterdam and praised the benefits of marijuana. Now we have learned that longtime musician, Fiona Apple, has now been linked to marijuana. However Fiona Apple was arrested at a border stop in Sierra Blanca Texas due to marijuana and hashish possession. While the marijuana charge is a misdemeanor, possessing any amount hashish is considered a felony in Texas The singer has been on tour for her fourth studio album “The Idler Wheel”. This particular border checkpoint in Sierra Blanca has also been a problem for other entertainers as Willie Nelson and Snoop Dog have also been caught with marijuana there. It is unclear how severe her charges will be.

Julio Cesar Chávez Jr. comes from a family of boxers with a rich history. His father, Julio Cesar Chávez is often mentioned as the best fighter to ever come out of Mexico. Chavez Jr.’s brother is also a professional boxer. Chavez junior was a champion in his own right and only lost his WBC championship belt to Sergio Martinez only days ago, a title he held since June of 2011. Unfortunately for Chavez Jr. he may be at risk to lose more as he recently tested positive for marijuana. Because his previous fight was in Las Vegas, Chavez Jr. will face a review from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Chavez Jr. has prior issues such as a DWI so it is unclear how the commission will rule. In theory they could revoke his license to fight or make him forfeit the entire $3 million purse from the Martinez fight. Chavez Jr.’s promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, tried to calm the situation down. He said “I can’t really get excited about it. There’s no promoter in boxing who could pass the marijuana test, including myself. “Julio is going to have to explain to the commission what happened and the commission will be guided accordingly. If there was a trace of marijuana, to me, it’s not the same as using a performance-enhancing drug. That is cheating.” The issue of treating marijuana as a performance enhancer has come under fire especially as recent Olympians were banned from the games solely based on testing positive for marijuana.